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CHICAGO — Big Cass declared that “a good big man will always defeat a good little man.” Big Cass is a good big man. But Daniel Bryan isn’t just good; he’s great. And Big Cass still has one or two things left to learn after WWE Money in the Bank.
Yes, the Queens seven-footer is now 0-2 against Bryan, who has dispelled nearly every myth about height disparity the sports-entertainment industry has ever held — to say nothing of the idea that his earlier win over Cass at WWE Backlash was a fluke. To his credit, Cass knew what brought him to the dance, and he leaned all the way into those inherent advantages in the early goings: While Bryan literally attempted to run circles around his towering opponent, Cass unleashed the full scope of his strength and size against The “Yes!” Man with a series of slams, splashes and bearhugs that stopped Bryan in his tracks.
If anything doomed Cass, it seemed to be his sense that victory was a foregone conclusion. He gallivanted nonchalantly to the ring and kept pausing his (incredibly effective) strength-based offense to talk trash and admire his handiwork. During one such pause, Bryan dodged a corner charge that landed Cass shoulder-first into the apron, and from there it was all “legs, lungs and heart” for the former WWE Champion.
With Cass stunned, Bryan targeted the big man’s surgically-repaired knee with a game plan that was part street fight and part science, tenderizing Cass’ knee with Dragon Screws before obliterating it against the ring post. Cass didn’t exactly wither and lose from there — he escaped a “Yes!” Lock with a rope grab and showed an impressive transition from a Torture Rack to an inverted Death Valley Driver — but Bryan’s heart carried him over the stretch when The “Yes!” Man escaped a second Torture Rack to land the Running Knee. After pausing over a downed Cass for a moment, Bryan finally applied an agonizing Heel Hook that forced his opponent to tap out.
Whether WWE truly is a big man’s world may never be a settled debate, but regardless of who runs it, five-tool players like Daniel Bryan may well be the ones who inherit it.